Papier-mache master class: Diving helmet. Heavy metal or introduction of diving equipment to divers Modern diving equipment

Unexpected items are often used to solve problems related to the organization of the interior. Animal horns and road signs in apartments no longer surprise anyone - more and more often you can find an old musical apparatus in a bookstore and a motorcycle in a barbershop. We propose to go further and pay attention to one of the first diving helmets - the same lead helmet with glass portholes.

Like many things classical form The first helmet for diving under water appeared quite spontaneously. John Dean, an engineer and inventor, a member of the East India Company, patented his helmet in 1823, but he owes the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bappearance to chance. One day, a stable caught fire before Dean's eyes, and several horses were trapped. He, using a simple construction of a knight's helmet and a hose connected to it, through which oxygen was supplied, made his way into the stable and saved the horses.

The first name of the unique design was "smoke apparatus" and was intended to help firefighters in their work, but pretty soon professional scuba divers appreciated the undeniable advantages, and Dean's invention began to be used in the army.

By and large, the success of the invention was due to its design - a flexible collar made it possible to use a helmet without additional equipment for diving, a hose for air supply was attached to the rear surface, short tubes allowed the exhaust air to be freely released outside. The diving suit, in turn, had a strict vertical shape, which prevented the possibility of water getting inside.

"Dean's diving suit"

Seven years spent as an employee of the East India Company could not pass without a trace: the love of the sea and adventure leads Charles and John to participate in 1836 in the work on the Royal George sunken in Spithead. In Russia, Dean's equipment first appeared in 1838 on the Black Sea Fleet, and in 1848 it was involved in lifting the Struya tender, which sank in the area of ​​Novorossiysk Bay at a depth of more than 20 meters. A vivid demonstration of the advantages of the equipment made it possible to obtain additional production contracts, but in general, the development of the enterprise gradually came to naught - August Siebe invented the exhaust valve in 1840, thanks to this, a full-size “improved Siebe suit” appears, which became the forerunner of the modern deep-sea suit.

It would seem that in our time, when a protective headgear of any configuration can be freely bought in a store, there is no need to suffer when making a motorcycle helmet with your own hands. However, not all so simple. There are several compelling reasons to take up needlework:

• firstly, you will make a helmet according to your individual measurements, and it will sit on you better than any purchased one;
• secondly, if you are an experienced motorcyclist, then you probably have own ideas about how to properly protect your head. You implement these ideas by creating a motorcycle helmet new design;
• thirdly, a home-made motorcycle helmet can be given any, arbitrarily bizarre configuration, and it will be one of a kind, original and inimitable;
• fourthly, good ones cost a lot of money, and by making a motorcycle helmet yourself, you will save some money.

Preparation for work

For the manufacture of a motorcycle helmet, you will have to use very toxic, allergenic and hazardous materials. Therefore, it is better to work outside (during the warm season) or in a well-ventilated area, ideally under a hood. Be sure to stock up on a respirator, goggles, thin rubber gloves, a rubberized or oilcloth apron to protect clothing, a work cap or bandana to protect your hair from dust. Keep a container of clean, warm water close to your work area so that if it comes in contact with poisonous substance in the eyes or on the skin, be prepared to immediately wash the affected area with plenty of soap and water. Before putting on gloves, lather or lubricate your hands with silicone cream.

For work, prepare the following materials:

• epoxy (polyester) resin - about 2 kg;
• fiberglass ASTT-6 - 5 m;
• fiberglass - 2 m;
• high-quality leatherette - 0.5 m (an old or second-hand leather jacket is also suitable);
• a strip of knitted fabric or knitted elastic;
• three or four sheets of plexiglass;
• art plasticine or clay;
• wax mastic (you can take "Edelvaks"), paraffin or vinyl alcohol;
• foam blank or wooden chock;
• several old newspapers;
• starch paste (slightly);
• big piece flannels or bikes;
• bolts M3;
• rasps and fine sandpaper(zero).

Making a motorcycle helmet

Before you make a motorcycle helmet, you need to clearly understand for yourself how you want to see it. Do not trust your imagination, but draw on paper, if not an ordinary, then at least a stylized drawing in three projections with the dimensions indicated. It makes sense to first study the design of the models you like in the store, look on the Internet for photos of helmets and reviews about their advantages and disadvantages. The more detailed your drawing, the better the helmet will turn out. Please note that you need to do only a closed motorcycle helmet: this model most reliably protects your head in case of accidents. Consider how the visor (visor) of your helmet should be: tightly closed or folding.

Making a boob

Be sure to measure your skull using pieces of bent wire. Take three measurements: the first - around the circumference of the head, the second - from ear to ear, the third - in the center of the head, from the back of the head to the nose. We do not unbend the resulting wire, but transfer the contours to whatman paper, so that subsequently, using the three arcs obtained, we can carve it out of wood or polystyrene or fashion a mannequin for a helmet from artistic (hardening) plasticine - the so-called "blockhead". To avoid carpentry, you can do it easier and take a three-liter jar as a base, and sculpt plasticine on it, forming a blockhead. Be sure to deviate from the received measurements by 2 cm. If you have a large nose, then the front allowance should be even larger, so that subsequently the tip of the nose does not rest against the visor.

Cook a little paste and paste over the blockhead with small pieces of old newspapers. Do you remember how, as a child, papier-mâché was made at labor lessons? This is what it is. Two or three layers are enough. Get some rest and let the papier-mâché dry thoroughly, but for now, think about it for the last time. design features helmet: there will be nowhere to retreat further. In parallel, you can cut the fiberglass into small strips with which you will paste over the helmet shell.

Making a motorcycle helmet shell

When the papier-mâché is dry, cover it with a thin layer of paraffin, vinyl alcohol or mastic: this way the finished motorcycle helmet can be removed more easily from the blockhead. Now begins the most milestone- the formation of the shell of our helmet by pasting the blockhead with strips of fiberglass impregnated with epoxy glue. This work requires special care. Take your time, take a stiff brush and carefully epoxy each strip, and then glue it to the block, remembering to smooth it with a gloved hand and a brush. Each subsequent strip of fiberglass should overlap the previous one by 1.5-2 cm. Gaps are unacceptable, otherwise the helmet shell, instead of a perfectly smooth shape, will turn out to resemble a lunar surface pitted with craters. Five meters of fiberglass should be enough for six layers of coating. Now comes the turn of the glass mesh, whose task is to finally align the shell. You must stick two layers of fiberglass, and smooth it especially diligently so that there are no bumps and folds.

Epoxy resin dries in about 48 hours. Just in case, let your helmet “rest” for three days: you are “sculpting” a real work of art, and there is no need to rush here. After the epoxy has dried, bring the motorcycle helmet to perfect smoothness with your own hands, treating it with sandpaper and rasps. Fiberglass dust is prickly and especially nasty. Protect your eyes (wear goggles), respiratory organs (breathe through a respirator) and hair while working.

In the next step, our perfect shell is in danger of being scratched. So wrap it in flannel. We will make a helmet visor - a visor. Absolutely everything happens in life, and in order not to have problems later due to a split visor, do not be lazy and make three or four visors. Believe me, they will come in handy!

We take plexiglass, heat it over the flame of the stove, press it tightly through the flannel flap to the front of our shell and hold until the plexiglass hardens. If you didn’t succeed the first time, don’t worry, just repeat the procedure again, high-quality plexiglass should withstand it.

Now the shell should be removed from the blockhead. It is quite possible that during the formation of the shell, some of its sections firmly stuck to the surface of the boob. If the shell is not removed, pour into the cracks between it and the blockhead warm water, which will melt the wax mastic or paraffin. You can also use thin wedges.

When the visor is ready, we make a pattern according to our drawing, apply it to the front of the shell and cut a hole. In an integral type helmet, the visor is fixed tightly, without the possibility of lifting it. This is not very convenient, but the implementation of this option is quite simple. We take six M3 bolts with dense rubber gaskets, in which ventilation holes are made, and fasten the visor. Now you just have to paint your helmet with high-quality enamel.

You may not be enough ventilation ducts on the sides of the visor. In this case, you can make several holes in the forehead and back of the head. But do not overdo it, otherwise you will simply be blown away. Before making a motorcycle helmet, study the organization of the ventilation system in the models of motorcycle helmets that are considered the best.

Sewing a balaclava

During the three days that the shell dried, you had time to sew a balaclava. Remember our wire arcs? The main part of the balaclava is a leather hoop, sewn to measure the circumference of the skull with a small allowance. Two crossed straps rest on it, forming a dome. Two more straps, sewn on the sides of the head, descend from the hoop down to the chin: a buckle is attached to one of the straps, holes are made in the other. Velcro fastening is also possible.

It is recommended that the balaclava is first only swept away, and finally sewn only after trying it on inside the helmet. The hoop and domed straps are glued to inner surface shells. If you wish, you can cut and sew a removable lining from microfiber, which will be attached to the balaclava straps: microfiber does not float and allows the body to breathe. The lined helmet is comfortable in both cold and heat.

To prevent insects and road dust from getting under the helmet, be sure to sew a “skirt”. To do this, take an elastic knitted or knitted strip, pull the cord along its entire length, and then attach it to the lining at the base of the helmet. The “skirt” will become dirty and soaked with sweat over time, so it must be removable.

Now you know how to make a helmet the simplest design. Do not be afraid to experiment with the shape and thickness of the shell (although do not forget that it should not be heavier than one and a half kilograms), visor, balaclava, ventilation system. It is quite possible that your homemade motorcycle helmet will surpass the most expensive models of the most famous companies in terms of quality and ergonomics.

Text: Larry Cohen
Photo: Olga Torrey

In the foreground is a diver wearing a Mark V helmet, in the background is a Mark XII.

Northeast Diving Equipment Group, an American organization based in the state of New Jersey, gives average recreational divers the opportunity to dive in real diving equipment with a hard helmet. The organization has existed since 1993, but in fact the work began in 1987. Dave Sutton, a highly experienced professional diver, ran Lakeland Divers in New Jersey. He bought a Mark V diving helmet with a set of equipment for it and organized diving courses for recreational divers. The purpose of the course was to introduce divers to diving equipment - no certification was intended.

Later, several of Sutton's students, including Fred Barthes, John Melnick and Jim Boyd, purchased diving equipment and formed the Northeast Diving Equipment Group (NDEG).

Clockwise from top left photo: Miller helmet with hose cable; Chinese 12-bolt TF3 helmet; Superlite 17 helmet (duplicate air source visible); Superlite 77 SS helmet.

Every year on Memorial Day and Labor Day (celebrated in the United States on May 30 and the first Monday of September, respectively - ed. note), since 1988, NDEG has taken all its diving equipment to open water. They started in the Willow Springs Quarry in Pennsylvania and have continued the tradition at Dutch Springs Lake since 2008. This lake is the Mecca of learning to dive in Pennsylvania.

At the event, each certified diver gets the opportunity to try out various diving equipment. This is very important for the diving community. The goal of the organizers is to show amateur divers how a person's journey under water began, to return to the roots. As Barthes says: "We need to understand where we came from in order to move on."

Vintage diving helmets

As part of the event, divers can dive in historic gear, including the famous Mark V helmet. This classic metal helmet was used by the US Navy from 1916 to 1984. The peak of his popularity came during the Second World War. Most Mark V helmets were produced and operated at that time.

Divers also have at their disposal Russian and Chinese diving equipment and a custom-made "Scarponi" helmet. The latter was created on the basis of the Mark V helmet - in 2009 Vince Scarponi ordered a modernized version of it. It has a second bleed valve and additional fasteners.

Together with a diving shirt (waterproof overalls), a metal shirt-front to which a helmet is attached, and the helmet itself, all this makes up a ventilated suit. Air circulates freely inside the helmet and shirt, which make up a single volume. Barthes laughs: "It's like you're diving inside your buoyancy compensator."

An Advanced 2000 helmet (left) and a Chinese 12-bolt TF3 helmet.

Breathing gas is supplied from the surface through a hose. Air is continuously forced into the helmet and exits through the bleed valve. As a result, a significant amount of gas is inside the suit, so the diver needs a huge amount of cargo. Therefore, it is difficult to work in such a suit. The helmet is held in place with a crotch strap.

Two or three people help the diver to get dressed - he cannot cope on his own. And from the beginning of putting on a suit until the moment when the diver is in the water, it can take up to half an hour. A diver in a suit weighs about 180 kg. If he falls, it will take the help of at least four people to get him back on his feet.

A diver wearing a Desco helmet emerges from the water.

Modern diving equipment

Also, divers can experience various models of a more modern diving equipment, including Aquadyne AH2, Desco Pot, Kirby Morgan Superlite 37 helmets from of stainless steel and full face masks (band mask). All of them are still used in commercial diving.

The Desco Pot Helmet Kit is used when working with hazardous substances. The Desco Pot and Aquadyne AH2 helmets are rigid but much smaller than the old Mark V. They require less weight and can be dressed in five minutes with only one assistant. Like the older models, these modern helmets still use a continuous surface air supply and can be used with a bib and a ventilated diving shirt, or with a neck seal, so that a waterproof suit can be dispensed with if desired. With a neck seal, the breathing gas only enters the helmet, not into the suit.

Miller helmet (left) and Superlite 17K.

Kirby Morgan Superlite helmets are sealed using a neck seal. Gas is still supplied through a hose from the surface, but it is supplied to the diver through a regulator on demand - as when diving in conventional open circuit recreational equipment.

Instead of a continuous supply of air, the regulator only supplies air when the diver inhales. With such a system, less gas is used than with a continuous supply, which allows the diver to take less cargo.

The full face mask looks like the front of a Superlite helmet, but instead of the metal back of the helmet, it's neoprene. A backup supply of breathing gas is always recommended. When diving in a neck seal system, a backup air source is required.

All diving equipment systems used by NDEG have a backup air source. In addition, divers are taught how to give signals by twitching the cable - in case the intercom fails.

On the right is the old Mark V helmet, on the left is the Mark XII helmet that replaced it in the US Navy.

Unique experience

Diving in diving equipment with a hard helmet feels very different from diving in a recreational scuba. Once you've experienced what it's like to put on a diving suit, diving in recreational gear will feel like skinny dipping. Divers do not have to worry about neutral buoyancy - in heavy diving galoshes with lead soles, you will simply walk along the bottom.

Diving overshoes that were part of the U.S. Navy's Mark V helmet kit, painted in bright colors.

In most cases, the helmet is rigidly attached to the suit, and when you turn your head, the helmet does not turn with it. But you can see what is happening from the side through a small side window. It feels weird at first, but after a few minutes you get the hang of it. The next unusual moment is telephone communication.

A diver wearing a Desco helmet walks along the bottom of Dutch Springs lake.

It seems strange for a diver to hear the voice of a person from the surface underwater. At the first moment, the thought flickers, if this is a symptom of nitrogen narcosis. What is even more unusual - you not only hear voices, but you can also carry on a conversation - they hear you too. At the very least, this indicates that voices exist not only in your head.

Educational activities

The NDEG Group aims to educate people about the work of modern divers and the history of diving. Employees of the company hold presentations in schools, museums, dive centers and even in the US Coast Guard. They participate in local fairs, arrange their exposition at the annual diving exhibition and sale in New Jersey, organize days of cleaning reservoirs and beaches.

The group is now busy organizing a permanent exhibition called "The Evolution of Diving" in maritime museum New Jersey. The exhibition will feature samples of both historical and modern diving equipment, including rebreathers.

Scientists passionate about the study of the underwater environment have long been looking for an opportunity to create something very small and comfortable that would replace divers with huge scuba gear. The same applies to the supply of oxygen, often the study is especially interesting model ends with oxygen. And so, while everyone is raving about the cud growing gills like in Harry Potter, Thomas Winship created the Scuba Diving Helmet ORB.

Work on the project was relatively short, given the scale of development, only 3 years. In his project, Thomas uses only Newest technologies, and in the design of exceptional minimalism.

The Scuba Diving Helmet ORB is a rebreather and relies entirely on "re-breathing" technology. It is tied to the enrichment of carbon dioxide with oxygen. Carbon dioxide is clear where it comes from, as a result of exhalation, but where oxygen appears in the water is already more interesting. There is a button on the side of the helmet, when activated, a small battery starts working, it turns on the headlights and activates electrolysis, which in turn splits water into oxygen and hydrogen. Such a complex chain of reactions is embedded in this compact helmet.

The underwater headgear consists of several layers of ABS plastic and has liners similar to headphones, this approach is argued by pressure drops under water and with the help of all these layers and spheres it can be compensated. The ORB allows experienced divers to descend underwater to depths of up to 200 meters.

No less interesting is the front glass. From the photographs, you can see that it is impenetrable, and at first glance, it is impossible to see anything through the black frosted glass. However, and this was done on purpose, in fact, this is mirror glass, everything is perfectly visible through it, moreover, at a shallow depth it does not let in the glare of the sun, which under normal circumstances can dazzle, and the diver, in this regard, can easily " get lost" even in open space.

Thomas Winship wisely approached the communication skills of the helmet. Each model is equipped with a Bluetooth module that allows you to maintain contact with the surface and communicate with several underwater explorers.

Of course, in addition to a comfortable fit and compactness, one can distinguish another feature of the ORB design - a huge number of style and color solutions.